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Police scour TCHC buildings for hidden guns

Tucked under floorboards, vents and air ducts, hidden in underground garages, secreted away in places only those in the know can find them, are some of the weapons making Toronto increasingly dangerous.

Toronto Police Deputy Chief Peter Sloly gave the troubling phenomenon — a factor in the proliferation of gun violence — another name in a radio interview this week: “a library for guns,” describing the shared weapons stored in communal places, often used to commit multiple crimes.

Early Friday, the force hit up some major branches.

Police charged into Toronto Community Housing buildings in areas troubled by gang activity, including Rexdale, Jane-Finch, and Jamestown, hunting for hidden guns in public spaces, such as lobbies or inside air ducts.

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They located and seized a number of guns as well as drugs, according to a police source.

Investigators will use every tool they can to track the guns back to their owners, which could include testing for fingerprints.

There were no arrests — that wasn’t really the point, said the source — and police are expected to reveal details about weapons seizures early next week.

Police often recover drugs and guns from TCHC developments, as they do in private homes and apartments across the city, said Toronto Community Housing spokesperson Sinead Canavan.

“These events occur regularly but are seldom made public, unless initiated by Toronto Police Service in arrest records or other documents,” she said in an email to the Star.

Since the sweeps occurred in common areas — places within a building that any person can access upon gaining entry — search warrants were not required, she said.

Guns were recently recovered from a TCHC building in Councillor Frances Nunziata’s South-Weston ward.

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“They went in the underground parking lots and police found weapons,” said Nunziata, who also sits on the TCHC board. “They put surveillance and certain people, and find the right opportunity.”

Supt. Ron Taverner, the unit commander for 23 Division in northwest Toronto, where Montaque was killed, said many guns recently recovered by police in that area can be traced to people under 20.

And one growing problem when it comes to weapons and youth is community guns.

“There were always issues of guns being used by multiple people, shared, sometimes rented,” he said, but recently, “it would seem to be trend that’s out there and happening.”

While the phenomenon may not be new, there are aggravating factors such as the normalization of gun violence, said Michael Chettleburgh, a street gang and youth criminal justice expert. It’s to the extent that guns have become the first, not last, resort.

Gone are the days when disputes were settled with fists and knives, thanks in part to the highly competitive nature of the drug trade and the powerful rivalries it has inspired, Chettleburgh said. Every one feels he needs a gun.

But while many types are readily available on the black market, they’re expensive.

Chettleburgh estimates a standard-issue police gun, such as a Glock 17, which retails for about $550, costs $1,500 to $2,000 underground for a weapon that hasn’t been used in a crime. For gang members short on cash, a shared gun is a serious money saver.

It’s also a way for gun owners to distance themselves from a crime that can mean real jail time, thanks to increased mandatory sentencing requirements for possession. Stashing a gun under a lobby floorboard is much safer than tucking it under a mattress.

“You keep it in a neutral territory, so if there is a door kick in community housing, they can’t tie the gun to an individual,” said Chettleburgh. “The young gangsters are getting a little more wise in their ways.”

The sweep for community guns comes five days after Montaque was shot outside a TCHC building in Rexdale. Montaque; Tyson Bailey, 15; Kesean Williams, 9; and St. Aubyn Rodney, 15; were all fatally shot in the GTA within a four-week period.

Sharing hot-commodity items like guns between gang members and placing them in neutral hiding spots is common even inside prisons, said Todd Negola, an American forensic psychologist who researches gangs and juvenile crime.

While working in U.S. prisons, Negola said prisoners would keep communal weapons in certain public areas, for use by whoever knew where to look.

“You’re talking about a certain lack of access to a certain desired tool, whether it be a gun or drugs or whatever,” he said.

There’s always going to be an “undercurrent population” trying to make sure there’s availability, he said — “no matter what the laws are.”

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